A Beautiful Knight

The Cursed Kingdom #2

by Hildie McQueen

Centuries trapped in a spellbound realm. One last chance at freedom.

One of five knights trapped in a magical realm for centuries, Gavin Campbell, has endured unrelenting torment for hundreds of years. Now, he’s determined to break free—not only for himself but for his fellow knights who share his fate. But the spell that binds them can only be shattered by a challenge unlike any Gavin has ever faced.

Sabrina Lockhart is used to photographing the world’s most alluring men, yet nothing prepares her for Gavin. Haunted, fierce, and devastatingly handsome, he ignites a spark she can't ignore. But as she fights to uncover the vulnerability behind his impenetrable shield, she realizes that unlocking his heart may be her only hope to set him free.

Liam Murray, once passionately in love with Gavin, now harbors a festering grudge born from heartbreak. A chance at freedom, brings with it an attractive man who stirs forgotten feelings, Liam must decide if he can risk opening his heart again—or if his past wounds will forever keep him bound to his cursed fate.

Thrown into a dangerous race against time and their own deepest fears, Sabrina, Gavin, and Liam must confront the mysteries of the past—and the powerful connections that may hold the key to their freedom.

Genres: Romance

214 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 11, 2025

About the author

Bestselling author Hildie McQueen loves unusual situations and getting into interesting adventures, which is what her characters do as well. She writes romance because she is in love with love! Author of Romance in Highland historical, Western Historical and contemporary, she writes something every reader can enjoy.

Most days she can be found in her pajamas hiding from deliverymen while drinking tea from her David Gandy coffee mug. In the afternoons she browses the Internet for semi-nude men to post on Facebook.

Hildie's favorite past-times are romance conventions, traveling, shopping and reading.

She resides in beautiful small town Georgia with her super-hero husband Kurt, an unruly boy Chihuahua Pepito and a spoiled rotten girl Chiweenie named Lola.

Visit her website at www.hildiemcqueen.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HildieMcQueen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HildieMcQueen
Instagram: @HildieWrites

Reviews

[☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cursed Kingdom is such a fun series. If you love Nora Roberts’s paranormal romances with curses, you’ll love this series featuring five knights stuck in an alternate realm controlled by a powerful mage. To break the spell that binds them, they must find an enchanted one and face a challenge. Because of the overall series arc and serious spoilers regarding the previous knights and their romance and quest, this series is best enjoyed in the order of its release.

Gavin Campbell is the second knight to be called forth when he connects with Sabrina Lockhart. McQueen’s story has it all, suspense, magic, trickery and obstacles to overcome. I felt for Gavin, who suffered unimaginable horrors in his time. He fears touch and intimacy but is brave and strong. Sabrina has plans for her budding photography career, and while she is determined to free Gavin, she isn’t planning to stick around.

I loved watching Gavin and Sabrina’s romance unfold as they worked to break the curse. We see character growth, trust and the realization that sacrifice doesn’t mean giving up all your dreams, that together you can pave a new path. We learn more about the other knights, get updates on friends we have made and get hints on what’s to come.

Summer Roberts narrates and brings both the female and male characters to life as she captures the tone and emotions of the story. A Beautiful Knight is perfectly suited for the audiobook format, and I highly recommend grabbing this series. The next audiobook, The Darkest Knight, releases in December 2025. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sabrina Lockhart joins her sister Gwen in Scotland to help find a way to free the knights trapped in an alter world by an evil wizard. The five knights have been trapped in an enchantment for over three hundred years. Each has an enchantress who can free them from the curse. It appears Sabrina is Gavin Campbell’s enchantress. She is not exactly pleased by the prospect. She is totally dedicated to her career as a photographer. The quest to free Gavin is made more difficult by abusive events in his past. The story also focuses on Liam Murray. There is a bit of history with Gavin and Liam. Like the first story, this one is exciting and captivating. The alternate universe is filled with magic, good and evil. There is an evil wizard, guardians to counter him, shifters, Highlanders, tricks, twists, turns, and lots of surprises. Sabrina, along with Gwen and other gifted people, including John Stewart, a bookshop owner who may be key to freeing Liam, work to find a way to break the curse and free the knights. This is a wonderful story great continuation of the Cursed Kingdom.
I received a special copy of this book via BookSprout and voluntarily reviewed it.

[Jessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited to read this since I had read the first book in the series and wanted to know what happened. I was pleasantly surprised that it involves 2 of the main characters who were stuck in the alter-world. The connection between the two (Gavin and Liam) was well done. There were a few other moments that caught me off guard, which is nice that not everything was predictable. My main struggle was that I did feel certain sections dragged a bit and I wanted to read faster to get to the next chapter. Also, if you didn’t read the first book, this one might be hard to understand for the first few chapters.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sewanee Kracalik · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this great time travel romance on Kindle Unlimited. I absolutely loved book one and if possible, i think I even enjoyed Gavin and Sabrina’s part in this series more. Although it is a series, each Knight has his own triumph and love story. There are dragons, Wizards, dangers, steam and a mystical world where death is eminent, if each Knight cannot find his own redemption! I cannot wait for the next part. The other Knights have to be saved to find their own true loves and somebody has to destroy the Wizard responsible. I’m gladly volunteering to give this review.

[Sahar's Honest Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could Love Help Him to Break the Curse?

Gavin was trapped in an enchanted world with other knights. Could he find his way out? One of his friends already escaped the curse, but Gavin must confront his worst fears to escape the enchantment. Sabrina was falling in love with him. Would he trust her to help him? For the answer, you might want to pick up this entertaining fantasy romance. I enjoyed it and look forward to what comes next in this series.

[Tina Christ · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little disappointed

The first book was sooooo good that I was quite disappointed in this one. It felt hurried. Instead of focusing on Gavin, Liam was also included. Unlike Tristan’s story, Gavin’s story was not well rounded & entire too easy. The same with Liam. The story line has merit & continues to engage but it would have been nice if each knight had their own story which included more of a back story.

[heartsandthrillers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Oliver Heber for granting me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own and are not influenced by the publisher.

Great continuation of this series! Highly recommend if you’re into paranormal fantasy romance. I loved reading Sabrina, Gavin and Liam's story. I can’t wait read Niall & Tammie's story in book 3!

⭐️ Star Rating: 5.0
🌶️ Spice Level: 3.0

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continuous book two of a paranormal story. This author uses immense creativity to pull the reader quickly into this lively and exciting story. With the aid of the previous characters, we find ourselves woo'd into the depth of hoping for a wonderous ending for everyone. It's important to read the first book to obtain the best appreciation for this portion of the story.

[Sarah J Stebbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another great read, just like book 1. There were a few things I was not expecting in this book and yet both made me more intrigued with the story and the world. While there has been simplicity mixed with depth, starting with book 1, this added more with Liam and Gavin’s backstories. My one complaint is that the fact that this ended up being Gavin and Liam’s stories at the same time. This meant not enough time was spent on both men, Liam mostly. Overall, I did still enjoy this and cannot wait to see what the rest of the series brings.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This will be Gavin’s story of rescue. His witch is Gwen’s sister from the first book – he was drawn to her when she was helping with Tristan’s rescue. We get the bonus of Liam’s rescue as well. Liam has been sure that he will never be rescue since he doesn’t think there will be a witch willing to rescue him. Watching the teams work together to remove the curses is fun.

[Darlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh noooooo!

I need to read it now!!!! This series is killing me. I can't stand waiting for book number three! I love all these men! Especially Gavin! Liam really threw me for a loop! Wasn't expecting that! I will wait patiently till March! 😁

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading this book, it was a very interesting read and a good addition to this series. I look forward to the next book.

[Jean H. Kromeke · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful

Another exciting story by Hildie Mc Queen. Loving The Cursed Kingdom series. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Crystal Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed!!

This story of Sabrina and Gavin was just as good as Gwen and Tristin’s story and how Gavin was able to leave the alter-world.

[🇵🇸🇵🇸 hasfia 🇵🇸🇵🇸 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars

I'm not a huge fan of the writing and plot lines but I do enjoy a good trope, hence, why I will get into the next book, and probably the next.

[M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

My least favorite so far but still good.

[Cherie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trapped In the Alter World
The series continues and it is best to read the first book in my opinion.
An interesting story with interesting characters.
A few surprises that took me off guard. One element had me lower my rating.
3.5 stars round to 4 stars.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

so good

This is Gavin’s story and it broke my heart. I’m not a big fan of Sabrina as she came across as self centered and not worthy of Gavin. What she did to free Gavin felt icky. On the upside, Liam gets his freedom with John, bookstore owner and author. Now to save Niall and Padriag.